


Meta - I Love Oliver, But...

by Caiti (Caitriona_3)



Series: Caitriona Opines on Fandom [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Meta, Minor Spoilers, Relationship Advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2713418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitriona_3/pseuds/Caiti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I adore Oliver Queen, I do, but...  Oliver Queen exasperates me faster than any other character in any other fandom…at least that I can bring to mind at the moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meta - I Love Oliver, But...

**Author's Note:**

> Oliver's relationship advice to Barry as well as the ongoing story line of Season 3 kind of set me on this track.
> 
> Minor spoilers involved.

“Guys like us…we don't get the girl” – Oliver Queen to Barry Allen

Let me start by saying the following is just my personal opinion, freely offered, freely given…and worth what you paid for it. 

Let me follow by saying that Olicity is my OTP in the fandom and it’s endgame for me…hopefully for the writers and show as well. I love the characters of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak separately, but the sheer vibe they give off together helps make the show for me. (Team Arrow as a whole does this, but it wouldn’t feel right to me without this pairing.)

That being said – Oliver Queen exasperates me faster than any other character in any other fandom…at least that I can bring to mind at the moment. I understand his worry, his fear that his actions and even his existence will bring danger to those he loves. Personally I think anyone who deals with the bad/evil side of human nature – criminals, villains, etc. – have this same fear. That’s completely understandable – but it doesn’t mean it’s a good reason for avoiding a romantic relationship! Will being linked to Oliver put Felicity in danger? Yes, obviously, but I have three reasons as to why him using that excuse irritates me.

First and foremost? She’s in danger anyway! Felicity Smoak has already been marked as connected to Oliver Queen and/or Arrow by some very powerful and dangerous individuals and groups. They won’t just scratch her off the potential target list because Oliver pushes aside the notion of a relationship with her. Even if no one else knew or remembered her working with Arrow, they know she is friends with Oliver himself – and the Queen family has its own enemies. Aside from all of that, she is in danger every time she helps in the vigilante work – the authorities managing to catch her in her hacking activities, the current bad guy hurting her, or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even without any romantic entanglements, Felicity has been in danger (both major and mild) from Quentin Lance wanting to arrest her in season one, the Dodger getting that bomb around her neck, and being too close to the damage of the Glades by staying in the lair during the pseudo-earthquake. None of these happened because she was Oliver Queen/Arrow’s “it” girl – they happened because she was Oliver Queen/Arrow’s I.T. girl.

The second reason it irritates me – Oliver is making the choice for both of them and ignoring any input from her. There is no discussion. He is taking away Felicity’s right to decide whether or not the danger makes a relationship problematic. Like a soldier on active duty, or a police officer working the streets, or a firefighter on call, his profession means there are risks to any relationship, romantic or otherwise. Granted, with the possible exception of the police officer, most of these don’t bring danger home to their families, but they are high risk professions – they have repercussions beyond missing an anniversary or leaving the dirty towels on the floor. Every time one of them goes to work, their partner/family/friends have to live with the knowledge that something could go very wrong and they might not come home again. And yet – these folks make great personal lives for themselves – and their families. The calling of “Arrow” does give a higher likelihood of a villain targeting Felicity than any other dangerous profession, but she faces that danger every time she helps him out – the level of the relationship doesn’t mean diddly in the situation. Would a relationship be problematic on top of everything else? Yes…but they’re both adults and they both should have the chance to air their views and actually discuss it.

My final reason for disliking the whole thing is fairly prosaic – Life is short and unpredictable. Felicity could get his by a bus tomorrow; she could get sick…there could be any number of normal, everyday things happen that have nothing to do with either side of Oliver’s life, masked or unmasked. What will he regret more? If something happens to her (the ubiquitous bus) and he got a chance for a few days happiness? Or if she meets that bus and he never even made the attempt? There’s not a lot more I can say here.

Just for a moment let me give an opinion on the other two major “potentials” for Oliver and Felicity – Laurel and Ray.

Laurel – my personal opinion is been there, done that, and thank goodness it’s done. I tried watching Arrow when it first started and couldn’t get into it. I just didn’t feel the vibes or the chemistry and I really, really wanted to – because let’s be honest here: who wouldn’t want to watch Stephen Amell as Oliver/Arrow? However, gorgeous cut of a man aside, I need more emotional connection to watch a show and vengeance (even vengeful judgment) doesn’t do it for me. Oliver and Laurel did not click for me. I simply found no chemistry in the match and that solidified my decision to stop watching within the first two shows. (Obviously a decision I rethought this past summer and then had to catch up with two seasons worth…bad decision on my part.) While Laurel is not my favorite character, I do think she has undergone quite a bit of character development over the run of the show and has some great potential – just not as Oliver’s romantic interest. I think she will always be the “puppy love” figure for Oliver, a memory to a past he can never reclaim and a connection to a more-or-less innocent Oliver who didn’t know about the sharks circling within the depths of the ocean while he ruled the beach.

Ray – I think he’s a rebound for Felicity in many ways. This ship has burst into the fandom like a shooting star, and I expect it to burn itself out. It’s gone too far, too fast. Part of that is Felicity’s hurt over the eternal “maybe” or “eventually” from Oliver – see above for my opinion on that. Deep down, despite everything, Felicity trusts Oliver – they trust each other, in a way that Ray simply cannot penetrate. Could he at some point in the future? Yes, I suppose, but with as fast as this is going…I just don’t see it. In a handful of episodes he goes from a stranger to her boss to the guy wooing her with couture and an insanely priced necklace to wear. He could be ready for sainthood and I’d still be looking at him sideways. This is too much, too fast for him to be a long term rival for Felicity’s affections. Does that mean Oliver shouldn’t be jealous or worried? No, he should be – people of both genders and of every age have had their heads turned by less. I do think if Felicity takes the time to breathe and let things settle, she will see that they need to slow it down – a relationship with Ray will not work unless they can build the same type of trust as exists between Felicity and Oliver. I don’t see that happening before (hopefully…please, writers, please) Oliver gets his head on straight. That’s why I think they are a shooting star – brilliant and beautiful to look at for a moment, but quick to burn out.

Overall I think Oliver and Felicity have the trust, the chemistry, the affection, and quite simply the sheer love to make it as a couple if Oliver would quit being quite so damn stubborn about having to be the always and eternally suffering hero. So while in most cases I think Barry should listen to Oliver and take some advice from the guy with the experience, in this particular case I have only one thing to say:

“Guys like us…we don't get the girl” – Oliver Queen to Barry Allen

Ignore that one.


End file.
